With the rapid advance of medical science, an increasing number of therapies for the treatment of disease involve the implantation of a mechanical device for the delivery of a fluid to a specific site within the body or the receipt of a fluid from a specific site within the body over a prolonged period of time. In some cases the implanted medical device is a drug infusion port which delivers medication to, for example, a cancerous tumor. In these cases the infusion port can be connected to a drug supply which is external to the body via a transdermal catheter. In other cases, an external drug infusion pump is connected to a catheter led through the skin to the internal site where medication is needed.
In other types of medical procedures, such as intravenous feeding, angioplasty and in the administration of an anesthetic, for example, a catheter can be led across the skin to a site where transdermal access is achieved. In all of the aforecited and similar situations it is important that the catheter be anchored to the surface of the skin and protected in such a way that it cannot accidentally be pulled out of the body. If the catheter is pulled out it may require a surgical operation to replace it.
Consequently, in the aforecited and similar situations it is a standard practice to anchor the catheter externally on the skin by means of adhesive tape or an occlusive dressing. In the course of placing and replacing such means for anchoring the catheter, adhesive particles, threads, dirt and other debris is transferred to the surface of the catheter. This makes for an unsanitary and generally unsatisfactory condition.